ABSTRACT
Any system of reindeer herding faces two threats, with contrasting consequences: scattering of herds engenders an external threat, from predators and wild reindeer, while excessive concentration of herds gives rise to the internal threat of disease epidemics. Treating one threat invariably exacerbates the other. Based on fieldwork and historic sources, this article studies the balances and techniques used among Tozhu reindeer herders, throughout the transformations of the 20th century resulting from policies of collectivization and privatization. It describes a contrast between a system of cognition involving both humans and reindeer in traditional herding, and a system of division of labor between humans, assisted by complex technologies in rationalized Soviet zootechny.
